LOUISVILLE – Congressman John Yarmuth (KY-3) and Mayor Greg Fischer announced today new tools designed to enhance safety for cyclists in Louisville, including the city’s first-ever bike boxes. Located at the intersections of Adams Street and Story Avenue and Spring Street and Mellwood Avenue, the bike boxes are painted bright green and create a space between vehicles and the crosswalk that allows bicyclists to position themselves ahead of traffic at an intersection.

“With more than 150 bicycle traffic collisions and up to three cyclist deaths each year in Louisville, we must do more to promote basic safety on our roadways,” Congressman Yarmuth said. “The tools we’re deploying today are designed to improve safety for responsible cyclists and ensure that motorists have an easy and more reliable way to share the road.”

“We want cyclists to be safe and comfortable when they are out riding on Louisville’s streets. This new treatment is a simple way to make bicyclists more visible, reducing issues that can put riders in danger at intersections,” Fischer said. “We’ve also added more bike symbols and shared lane markings on several streets. I hope it will encourage more citizens to get on their bikes and enjoy the health benefits that come with riding.”

In addition to bike boxes, the following treatments were added:

Poplar Level Road- bike symbols

8^th Street- bike symbols and shared lane markings

Jefferson Street- shared lane markings

Market Street- shared lane markings

West Main- shared lane markings

Bank Street-shared lane markings

2^nd Street- shared lane markings

Johnsontown Road- shared lane markings

These improvements were funded with federal Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement (CMAQ) dollars, which require a 20% local match, with a total cost of just over $125,000. The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet was also a partner in this project, assisting with installation of the markings on state-owned roadways.